Citation: For exceptionally meritorious service and professional achievement in the superior performance of duties above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the Unitary Executive of America, George Dubya Bush did successfully dodge murderous enemy combatant fire while undergoing torturous questioning in Baghdad, Iraq on 14 December 2008. Although the Unitary Executive’s quick reflexes saved him from injury by the deadly shoe barage; he bravely withstood the cutting remark which characterized him as a “dog.” Unitary Executive Bush’s gallantry at the press conference and his extraordinary grammatical errors at the risk of...blah, blah, blah,...his life,..blah,...highest traditions,..blah, blah,...Texas Air National Guard,...blah,... great credit,...blah, blah, blah,...et cetera,..blah,... his country.

"To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed."Theodore Roosevelt, Seventh State of the Union (1907-12-03)

The Allergists voted to scratch it and the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it; but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve and the Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception. The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted. The Pathologists yelled, 'Over my dead body!' while the Pediatricians said, 'Oh, Grow up!' The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the Radiologists could see right through it, and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing. The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow and the Plastic Surgeons said, 'This puts a whole new face on the matter.' The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward; but the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water. The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no. In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some assholes in Washington.

Just a note on where we are, before I get into the analysis here. As all of us recognize, as we wake shaking in the night, fearing tomorrow, this is an incredibly dangerous moment. It doesn't just seem to, it really does get worse each election - the stakes grow higher, the dangers spread further. People's lives - not only, not even mainly, our own - are at grave risk. This election is probably the most important most of us have ever faced. And its outcome is at least partly in our hands.

My friend Holly Near, the great songwriter and singer-agitator, recently sent me some of her ideas of how to think about this election:

"We have had the president's OK for months," said the official, who declined to be identified because the order is classified. "It is my understanding that the Pakistanis are well-aware of the change."

During Sarah Palin's acceptance speech when nominated by John McCain for Vice President, McCain wouldn't leave Palin alone on stage. Rather than give her the momentary limelight, McCain peered over her shoulder and read her speech alongside her. He was visibly nervous and has remained so ever since. Other than Wednesday at the RNC when Palin finally appeared solo, the image of McCain hovering authoritatively over her is the constant at every appearance. McCain's public subjugation of Palin, and her public acceptance of it, set male-female advancement back decades. Were Palin truly a trusted and powerful woman she'd request and be granted autonomy on stage, and reject McCain's Taliban-like presence. All that's missing is her burka. Honestly, what strong woman tolerates a man hovering over her in the presence of thousands? If she's really VP worthy, McCain should leave her alone.

Here are 3 short videos evidencing McCain's "tight-leash" on Palin. The first is Palin's acceptance of the nomination for VP:

A coalition working to end the war in Iraq announced it is organizing the year’s largest anti-war mobilization. Million Doors for Peace, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, will ask one million Americans to sign petitions urging the next Congress to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq within one year.

The action combines the best of grassroots activism and support from the netroots. The campaign will allow tens of thousands of volunteers to download a neighborhood “walk list” for the coalition website. The volunteers will then use this public information talk to and identify neighbors who oppose the Iraq war and will join the efforts to end the war. Please join this effort, click here.

Assembled in Independence Square, Philadelphia, thousands of patriotic Americans recently pledged their unanimous support to the President in the following stirring resolutions:"Meeting on the eve of a great crisis affecting our national life and on the sacred ground where, 141 years ago, the fathers of the Republic declared belief in the unalienable right of man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we citizens of Philadelphia, following the traditions of the fathers, here publicly renew our oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, pledging to the President of the United States our loyal support in any action which, in the exercise of his constitutional powers, he may deem necessary to the protection of American rights upon land and sea. Because the common defense is a common duty, universal military training is the only system that is fundamentally democratic and fair. We urge upon Congress the prompt enactment of a bill to put this system into immediate operation." - April 1917 issue of The National Geographic Magazine (XXXI)

Notice the people were renewing their oath to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic. They only pledged their support to the president in his exercise of his constitutional powers. And, they didn't neglect Congress; Congress has it's duty to perform, too. How different from today.

In the early hours on the Friday before Memorial Day, members of the Delaware Valley Veterans for America, other veterans groups and volunteers, began the painstaking process of marking out the grid that hours later would hold markers representing the 4081 U.S. service members who lost their lives in the Iraq war (as of May 24).

Adding to this stunning visual were the buildings that flanked the memorial that was first displayed on Veteran’s Day 2005. But, it wasn’t historic Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell or the National Constitution Center that pulled at the heartstrings of those who walked along the somber exhibit. It was the tone that was set by the organizers, mostly veterans, who moved quietly among the perfect rows listening, sharing stories, and answering sometimes difficult questions.

As a Sergeant of Marine Infantry, I was charged with enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice - the UCMJ. I didn't have the luxury of any special legal training to help me do that job - a job I would be punished under the UCMJ for not doing. All I could do is read it and executed it. I sent a lot of Marines to the brig for violating the UCMJ.

My reading of it tells me that Blackwater and the rest of the "security" forces in Iraq are subject to military law as promulgated.

Notice paragraph (a)(10) and the rest of the paragraphs highlighted in bold. Also note the two italicized paragraphs. As I read it, Blackwater and friends are subject because they are serving with the U.S. Military or are subject because they are mercenaries in violation of the law of war.

This list is yours just as the country should be. Join this list. Share it. Make it grow. Healing reconciliation of our divided nation is dependent on impeachment and full truth.

Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern recently said, “Impeachment should not be off the table.” Many believe letting Nixon retire without full exposure of the corrupt system is why Americans allowed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Charges of lies that led to war, illegal torture, corruption of the constitution and lying about the horrific events of September 11, 2001 come from reputable scholars. Impeachment and investigation are not subjected to a timetable or congressional whim.

The nucleus of this people’s impeachment list was supplied by Kenyatta DaCosta, a young African-American writer in a wheel chair. He had a score of his friends to sign up. Do they have more courage and concern than we privileged progressives of the suburbs?

On March 8, 2008, our criminal president vetoed a bill that would have restrained his torturing human beings. This, added to his other crimes, convinces us that the White House is controlled by a group of criminal psychopaths that in no way reflect the U.S. Constitution or the values of the undersigned. 9/11 is given as the reason for the “Homeland Security Bill” which suspended many civil rights, but this bill was written BEFORE the events of September 11, 2001.

Towns and counties across the nation are speaking for impeachment and the documenting of the truth NOW!

These 101 Rochester area concerned citizens and groups speak out for immediate impeachment of Cheney and Bush. Those that want to add their names and/or organizations should contact Jim and Jean Barlow at salmonvalley@att.net. If everyone who reads this gets more names to contact us the list can grow exponentially.

Print this out for use with your friends, communities, congressional reps and organizations. This list is yours just as the country should be.

You can find lots of clever, quick and inexpensive ideas for paper flowers on the web. Even, the supper-dupper, multi-fold, multi-sheet, brain-boggler origami flowers; if you're up for that. Give it a go. Wear a boutonniere. Give a flower away. Afterall, the "Buddy Poppies" that go on sale every Memorial Day are, in the end, just paper flowers too.

OH YEH, MAKE NICE EVERYWHERE YOU GO - GIVE SOME ORANGE FLOWERS TO THE POLICE AND OTHER PEOPLE.

To kill one man is to be guilty of a capital crime, to kill ten men is to increase the guilt ten-fold, to kill a hundred men is to increase it a hundred-fold. This the rulers of the earth all recognize and yet when it comes to the greatest crime-waging war on another state-they praise it!

It is clear they do not know it is wrong, for they record such deeds to be handed down to posterity; if they knew they were wrong, why should they wish to record them and have them handed down to posterity?

If a man on seeing a little black were to say it is black, but on seeing a lot of black were to say it is white, it would be clear that such a man could not distinguish black and white. Or if he were to taste a few bitter things were to pronounce them sweet, clearly he would be incapable of distinguishing between sweetness and bitterness. So those who recognize a small crime as such, but do not recognize the wickedness of the greatest crime of all-waging war on another state-but actually praise it-cannot distinguish right from wrong. So as to right or wrong, the rulers of the world are in confusion.

What more is there to say about Gene Sharp's three volume work on nonviolence. On the back cover, Colonel Bletz said all that needed saying.

...a monumental piece of work...impressive....It does not seem too unrealistic that nonviolent action would or should be one of the options within a nation’s defense policy....The military professional...should read this book with a view toward determining if nonviolent action can play a logical role in the defense of his state or in an alliance structure....This volume makes a great deal of sense and if the insights it offers are accepted in a practical way and...examined unemotionally, it will be a valuable contribution to the study of relations among states and to the search for valid alternative defense policies. - Col. Donald R. Bletz, Department of National and International Security Studies, U.S. Army War College, MILITARY REVIEW

Anything that makes the Army War College stand up and take interest is worth a look by you. Of especial interest is the role nonviolence played in colonial America's struggles with the English crown.

Portugal - Nonviolent supporters of the Revolução dos Cravos or the Carnation Revolution changed the Portuguese authoritarian rule in favor of a democracy.

Citizens brandishing Carnations offered to trade their flowers for the government’s soldiers’ bullets. The soldiers accepted. The oldest fascist regime in Western Europe was put to rest. The only casualties were four citizens killed by the fascists.

Now we got no ears, no hands, no arms, no feet, no legs, no eyes, no head.... Now we're all dead and gone, dead and gone, dead and gone.

Listen to a clip of "Are You Ready for a War", a traditional Irish children's song at CD World (track 34).

Simple, catchy, says it all. Sing it as is or rewrite for your next nonviolent action. How about “Are you ready for Iraq, for Iraq, for Iraq.... Presumably this is some black Irish humor out of the mouths of babes. But, I reckon it’ll work for this war, for Iran and for the next war.

ARE YOU READY FOR A WAR

Are you ready for a war, for a war, for a war.
Are you ready for a war, for we’re the English soldiers

O yes we're ready for a war, for a war, for a war.
Yes we're ready for a war, for we’re the Irish soldiers.

While on tank patrol through the narrow streets of Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad, Pfc. Clifton Hicks was given an order. Abu Ghraib had become a "free-fire zone," Hicks was told, and no "friendlies" or civilians remained in the area. "Game on. All weapons free," his captain said. Upon that command, Hicks's unit opened a furious fusillade, firing wildly into cars, at people scurrying for cover, at anything that moved. Sent in to survey the damage, Hicks found the area littered with human and animal corpses, including women and children, but he saw no military gear or weapons of any kind near the bodies. In the aftermath of the massacre, Hicks was told that his unit had killed 700-800 "enemy combatants." But he knew the dead were not terrorists or insurgents; they were innocent Iraqis. "I will agree to swear to that till the day I die," he said. "I didn't see one enemy on that operation."